Vittorio Palma, investment manager at Terna Forward, is one of our top 50 Rising Stars in corporate venturing for 2026.
Vittorio Palma was part of the founding team when Italy-based electricity grid operator Terna set up €50m corporate venture unit Terna Forward in 2022, and he has spent his time there looking outwards and expanding its ambitions.
Terna itself is part of a heavily regulated industry, and the unit’s instructions were initially to invest only domestically, to “not make the step longer than the leg,” as Palma puts it.
“My first investment was in Spain, less than a year afterwards,” he says, a deal followed by a large series C round for Italian in-space transportation company D-Orbit in 2024.
“My third investment, which we closed late last year, was in Japan,” Palma says. “So, it is mainly appearance, all the worries we have in advance saying: ‘we cannot do this, we cannot do that’. I have learned that if you dare, somehow you also achieve.”
“What I like most about this is that corporate venturing is fitting for a profile such as mine: technical background with an eye on the business.”
Beyond corporate venture capital, Palma has been a football referee for more than a decade, working his way up to Italy’s fourth tier, and is a keen marathon runner. He believes having many outside interests is crucial because it stimulates curiosity.
Although Palma sometimes misses leading a team, as he did in previous roles, he is making up for that by taking an active part in mentoring junior staff on his team and through external professional startup-focused programmes.
Palma’s background is in engineering – prior to taking on his current position, he managed the project portfolio for 3D-printed concrete elements startup Etesias – and his current role means combining that expertise with entrepreneurial experience.
“I am a civil engineer by training and I started working in innovation when I was 15 years old with my first pitch for ideas among my friends. I have always been involved in the startup world,” says Palma. “What I like most about this is that corporate venturing is fitting for a profile such as mine: technical background with an eye on the business.”
The Rising Stars are early-career corporate venture professionals who are making an outstanding contribution to their teams and the industry.
See the full list of Rising Stars 2026 here.
